I'll Get You, Leslie
by IntenseBurningApathy
Summary: Jesse Aarons is, of course, the last person to figure out that he and Leslie are more than friends. However, the nerve to say anything about it comes from an unlikely source: his parents' collection of Beatles songs!
1. Chapter 1

It was well past midnight, but Jesse Aarons was still lying awake in his bed, feeling not at all tired. If you asked him to explain further, he wouldn't have been able to, but he just felt like there was something he needed to think through before he fell asleep.

_But what?_ he asked himself, over and over.

With a groan, he got up and shuffled over to his nightstand where his iPod was sitting, hoping it would help him doze off at last. Normally, something like an iPod was a luxury his family could not afford, least of all for Jesse, but this one in particular happened to be a gift from his neighbor and longtime friend Leslie Burke for his fourteenth birthday.

_Leslie Burke._ He froze for a second after thinking her name. _Whatever is keeping me awake must have something to do with her._

Come to think of it, he had been thinking of her much more recently. And not just more, but... differently. He would see her smile at him when they sat down together on the school bus in the morning, he would hear her laugh when he made a joke about Gary Fulcher or Scott Hoager's intelligence (or more accurately, lack thereof), he would catch the stawberry scent that seemed to eminate from her hair while running with her in the afternoon, and that strange feeling would well up in him. He fervently hoped there was a good explanation for it because he was starting to think he was losing his mind.

_ Can't buy me lo-ove_

His iPod started playing, seemingly of its own volition. The only songs Jesse had on the darn thing were old Beatles classics that Leslie had managed to rip off of his parents' CDs. In general he disdained them, if only because they were mostly catchy, shallow pop tunes about love. This topic grated on the nerves of the adolescent, at least for the time being. Having just laid down again, Jesse reached for the iPod to skip the song, hoping the next one would be less obnoxious.

_ Oh yeah, oh yeah_

_ oh yeah, oh yeah_

So far the meaning of the song was ambiguous. So much the better, Jesse thought.

_ Imagine I'm in love with you_

_ its easy, 'cause I know_

"Damn!" Jesse accidentally spoke aloud. He cast a furitive glance to his right; his little sister, May Belle, with whom he shared a room, was still sound asleep. _Not another one of these songs!_ he thought to himself. Rather than skipping the song once more, however, Jesse resigned himself to the sixties music and began to drift off to sleep.

He wasn't quite able to, though.

_ I've imagined I'm in love with you_

_ many, many many times before_

Against his will, his thoughts turned to Leslie as he listened to these lyrics. He lay there with a stupid grin on his face thinking of her, but with a start he realized what had happened.

_That's so random! I don't think about her that way... do I?_ Jess was no longer on the verge of falling asleep. He was now wide awake, and oddly enough, sweating profusely.

_Its not like me_

_ to pretend_

_ but I'll get you, I'll get you in the end_

_ yes I will, I'll get you in the end_

Well, at least now Jesse had a pretty solid idea of what the song was speaking of. And the fact that it seemed to make him involuntarily think of Leslie was starting to scare him.

_Oh yeah, oh yeah_

_ I think about you night and day_

_ I need you, and its true_

_ When I think about you I can say_

_ I'm never, never never never blue_

_ So I'm telling_

_ You my friend_

_ That I'll get you, I'll get you in the end_

_ yes I will, I'll get you in the end_

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for Jesse Aarons.

"OH MY GOD!" he sat up suddenly, sending his iPod flying. Too late, he realized that he had spoken aloud again. This time, however, he wasn't so lucky as to escape the wrath of his sister for waking her.

"Jess! What is your problem!" May Belle spoke, sounding groggy but nonetheless very much angry.

Jesse didn't respond at first. Sensing that something was troubling her brother, May Belle spoke again, this time softer.

"Something wrong?"

"I, uh, erm... Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"What, are you dreaming of your girlfriend again?"

In lieu of the revelation that the music had just given Jesse, he temporarily forgot that his sister always referred to Leslie this way, despite not really believing that the two were a couple. Yet.

"My WHAT NOW?"

"Jeez, sorry Jess, calm down. You know I'm just kidding."

"Darn right you are. Go back to sleep, I'm fine."

May Belle appeared to do as asked, and Jesse relaxed once again, finally letting sleep overtake him. Unbeknownst to him, however, May Belle had only feigned sleep. Now, she carefully got out of her bed and crept to where Jesse's iPod lay discarded on the ground.

_Now playing: I'll Get You - The Beatles_

May Belle smiled to herself as she fought a very strong urge to dissolve into a fit of giggling. She, unlike her brother, was quite fond of her parents' collection of Beatles songs, and was familiar with this one. The revelation the song had just given her brother was now imparted to her. The only difference was that she could have seen it coming from miles away.


	2. Chapter 2

Jesse woke up the next morning at seven o'clock sharp, ready to begin his daily routine. He took a shower, got dressed, brushed his teeth, and the like. Before long breakfast was the last thing that needed doing before he would be off to school. However, his routine ground to a halt when he arrived downstairs to see that nobody else was up.

He couldn't believe he had been so stupid.

It was a Saturday.

_Man, I must've been really out of it yesterday to get my schedule this screwed up._ He thought to himself. He had no idea how right he was until the events of last night came back to him.

He had realized he loved Leslie.

The flashback now over, Jesse found himself sitting on the couch, hyperventilating. _Its SATURDAY. We always go to Terabithia on Saturday. I'm going to have to face her in just a few hours!_

He had little faith that he could do it. See her, talk to her, like nothing had changed since he last saw her. Because as far as he was concerned, _everything_ had changed.

_Well, thats one option ruled out,_ he thought to himself ruefully. _But what else is there to do?_

He could tell her.

_NO! WHAT? I can't.. I don't even know if... JUST NO! She'll hate me forever anyway._

However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had no choice. Surely the next time he saw her she would notice him acting strange, and if not then, the next time after that. She would ask, and there would be no plausible explanation that he could offer her besides the truth. It would happen, sooner or later.

Just then, the phone rang. Much to his dismay, Jesse recognized the phone number. It was Leslie's.

_You can do this Jesse. It'll be easier than talking to her in person._ He picked up the phone.

"Hi Jess." She sounded less upbeat than normal.

"H-hey, Leslie. Why..."

"Listen, Jess. I know we were supposed to go... _there_, today. But there's a bit of a family emergency that my parents and I have to deal with. My great-aunt Janet has been sick for a while and we were just told that she was admitted to the hospital this morning."

Jesse momentarily forgot about his own recently discovered predicament. "Oh my gosh, Les! I'm so sorry! I hope she'll be okay!"

"Thanks. My parents and I will be spending the rest of the day at the hospital with her, so I won't see you until tomorrow."

Jesse knew that he shouldn't be thankful for the woman's misfortune, but if she had to choose a time to fall gravely ill, this was a pretty good one. It might just give him the time he needed to organize his thoughts before having to face Leslie in person again.

"Oh, uh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"See you Jess."

Jesse immediately turned his thoughts back to the problem he faced.

_I've known her for so long, yet just thinking about what I'll have to say to her makes me feel really awkward all over again!_

That was something he couldn't have. It couldn't be awkward. It had to be smooth, like in the movies.

_Who are you kidding? No matter what you do you'll make yourself look like a total ass! Besides, she doesn't have a TV, she hasn't seen hardly any movies._

That last thought gave him a glimmer of hope. _Maybe she has no idea what its supposed to be like! I could say it to her anyway I like and she won't have anything to compare it to!_

In the end, though, Jesse knew that wouldn't matter. The only thing that would matter would be her reaction to whatever it is he would end up saying.

Now feeling like the phone call had just delayed the inevitable rather than offered him a solution, Jesse headed back to his room, hoping to get another hour or two of sleep. His hopes were dashed, however, when he saw that May Belle was not only awake, but was getting ready to play her guitar.

It actually wasn't May Belle's guitar, but rather their father's old Gibson acoustic something or other that was apparently quite rare. It had also belonged to their grandfather, and his father before him. It was the closest thing to a family heirloom that the Aaron's family had. And as far as Jesse was concerned, May Belle was about to desecrate the memories of all of his ancestors by plucking strings at random, seemingly in an effort to make the most hideous sounding notes possible.

"May Belle, don't play that thing now! Everyone's still asleep!"

"Nuh-uh! We're both awake, and daddy just came in here to say good morning a few minutes ago. He and mommy are in their room getting dressed 'n stuff."

"Well, uh... what about Brenda and Ellie?"

"Since when did you care about them?"

Jesse hated how May Belle always chose the wrong times to be right. He desperately cast around in his mind for another reason for May Belle not to play the guitar. All he wanted to do was sleep!

All of a sudden he had an idea. The guitar! In an instant, he was sure that he wanted to learn how to play the song he had heard last night. He didn't know how or why, but it would help him. In some way.

May Belle had been playing - if you could call it that - for a few minutes while Jesse was lost in his thoughts, and she eventually grew curious of why he was staring so intently at the guitar.

"You're still not going to get me to stop playing," she said, just in case that was still his intention. "Its a free country!"

"No, May, I wasn't going to... Uh, can I see the guitar when you're done," he cringed inwardly, "... playing?"

* * *

**AN:**

**Well this has been bizarre. I don't even know why I'm writing this story. Anyone who knows me would tell you that I'm a pragmatic, linear thinker, and if you told them I wrote a fan fiction about some children's novel they would think it extremely out of character. And then they would kill me. Actually, I do know why I'm writing this. If I didn't, the idea would just keep bouncing around in my head and eventually manifest itself in the form of an aneurysm. Or something.  
**

** MadTom: Totally with you on that. IMO the Beatles' best work was done '62 - '65. I have a bunch of friends who would tell you "DUDE, WHITE ALBUM" but I just don't see it myself. I started off with Jesse thinking of the Beatles as shallow because that is exactly how I saw them before I got into them myself some years back. Oh, and I guess I should say thanks for reviewing.**

**Chapter 3? Its in the works. Any more than that? God, I hope not. I want to wash my hands of this weirdness.**


	3. Chapter 3

It was now noon. Jesse was sitting out on his front porch, the old guitar in one hand and his iPod in the other. It was proving much more difficult than Jesse had originally anticipated to learn to play even such a simple sounding song. He had in his possession a worn book detailing the fretwork for some beginner's chords. It made sense to start with those.

He soon realized, however, that he had no good way of telling what chords were being used in the song at what time. His first thought was to wait for Leslie to return so he could Google the chord progression on her laptop, something he didn't have. That thought never made it past initial consideration, for obvious reasons. _You idiot,_ he told himself, _she's the LAST person you want to get involved in this. You would have better luck asking May Belle and all her days of experience banging on the darn thing like a drum with strings._

The only alternative was to listen to each section of the song again and again, and play random chords from the diagrams in the book until it sounded right. This painstaking process took the better part of three hours, and at the end of it Jesse was still left with the task of actually getting good enough at guitar to play the song at full speed, rather than pausing for ten seconds just to switch from a D to an A.

Somewhere along in this process, Jesse got to thinking about his inevitable reunion with Leslie. What on Earth was he going to say? Then it hit him.

_How about I don't say anything! I could express it in the form of an action, something meaningful._

Jesse was feeling very satisfied with himself until he realized that this had simply changed the question around a bit. What on Earth was he going to _do__?_

_But of course! The song! I've just spent all this time learning it. I'll practice it a bit more and play it for her! Will it have the same effect on her that it did on me?_

He sure hoped it would.

Just then, he was roused from his thoughts by the sound of the door opening behind him. It was his parents.

"Jesse, your mother and I will be out for a few hours, we are going to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the new hardware store building. I've left a note on the greenhouse door with a few extra chores that'll need doing. See to it."

_Of course,_ Jesse thought. _The free prize that came with every conversation with my father: A new list of chores._

_Wake up, Jesse, or you'll be late! Oh, and I have these chores for you..._

_Jesse! Be nicer to your sisters! Also, don't forget to..._

_Jesse, are you alright? You've got to be more careful going down the stairs. Oh, before I forget, I've been meaning to ask you to..._

He shook himself out of his reverie just in time to answer his father, who was growing impatient.

"Y-Yessir. See ya dad, see ya mom."

He watched his parents drive off in his dad's old pickup truck, then immediately set to work on the chores. He figured that if he spent any more time playing that song and thinking about Leslie he would forget about them completely and catch all sorts of hell for it later. An hour later, Jesse emerged from the greenhouse and trudged back to the porch where he had left his stuff, but something was different.

May Belle had taken his spot, and was currently sitting there, grinning wildly, inspecting his iPod.

"Gimme that!" Jesse snarled indignantly as he made a grab at the iPod, but May Belle was too quick.

"First you gotta tell me what's up with you and this song!" she said as she pointed at the iPod screen.

It read:_ Now Playing: I'll Get You - The Beatles. _Just like it must have the previous night, he realized. In that instant, Jesse knew that May Belle was on to him.

"Nothing! I-I just... like the song," he finished lamely.

"No way! You usually can't stand the Beatles! Its Leslie, isn't it! You like her!" May Belle crossed her arms and gave him a playful smirk. The smirk of victory.

"Of course I do! She's my best friend, and - " He was cut off.

"Jess, you know I don't mean it like that! You _like_ like her!" Jesse quickly felt himself turning red. For some reason his sister's incredibly juvenile way of putting his affection for Leslie was doing a better job at embarrassing him than anything else in his life ever had.

_Don't worry, I'm sure telling _Leslie_ about it will be far worse, _he thought somewhat bitterly to himself. But try as he might, Jesse was having a very hard time feeling frustrated. He just felt really happy, giddy even. He loved Leslie, May Belle knew somehow, and now all he had to do was acknowledge it.

"... yeah," Jesse squeaked out. He may not have been frustrated, but he sure was still incredibly embarrassed and generally anxious about it all.

"I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT!"

"Shhh!"

"JESS AND LESLIE, SI - "

"Now don't you start that! No one else is gonna know about this until I want them to! So you just keep your mouth shut, and let me deal with it how I want to, on my own time."

"But that's no fun! Oh well. Just so you know, I'm happy for you." With that, May Belle winked at Jesse, spun around suddenly, and ran back into the house, leaving his iPod behind on the porch chair.

"Thanks." Jesse called out after her. _Now, back to the task at hand..._

* * *

After all of the practicing he had done over the course of the day, Jesse was getting fairly proficient at playing the song, chord changes and all. However, something occurred to him halfway through his fourth or fifth time playing it by himself. Something was missing, and he knew exactly what it was. The singing.

_There's no way I'm singing this!_ he thought to himself. _Because... because, well, fourteen year-old boys just don't sing!_

However, as Jesse continued to play the song, he simply couldn't ignore the fact that it sounded incomplete. And it wasn't like anyone would hear him, anyway. The Burkes were gone, Brenda and Ellie were both inside blasting Disney channel out of their television, and May Belle...? Well, what were the chances she could hear him from their room? There were enough walls between them, and he would just sing softly.

_Well, I've come this far, I might as well try it out. I can still decide not to sing when I play it for Leslie later._ With how many times Jesse had listened to the song on his iPod, trying to get the chords right, he had inadvertently memorized the lyrics. He started singing along, picking up where he had left off, just after the chorus.

_Imagine I'm in love with you_

_Its easy, 'cause I know_

_I've imagined I'm in love with you_

_Many, many many times before_

_It's not like me_

_To pretend_

_But I'll get you, I'll get you in the end_

_Yes I will, I'll get you in the end_

_Oh yeah, oh yeah_

_Oh yeah, oh yeah_

_"OH MY GOD!"_

"Sorry, Jess, didn't mean to startle you."

Jesse had been so absorbed in playing the song that he had failed to notice Leslie walk right up to him and listen to him play the last part of the song.

_Oh god. Oh god. I am SO SCREWED_.

"T-that's okay, Les. Why are you... I mean, how come, er... I thought you said you wouldn't be back all day?" He was sure Leslie could hear his heartbeat from where she stood about ten feet away.

"Well, it is a quarter 'till 6, its not really that early. Also, we got good news about my great-aunt. They're gonna release her from the hospital in a few days, it was just a... uh, what did they call it? Oh yeah, a minor respiratory infection. They said that because we caught it in time, there should be nothing to worry about."

"That's great, Les!" _Thank GOD. She willingly changed the subject! Now if I can just carefully put the guitar down and gradually start us walking down the road, I can avoid having to explain this to her. I bet it looks pretty weird..._

"So...?" Leslie looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Since when did you know how to play the guitar?"

_Crap. So much for that. _"Uh, not long really, just kinda taught myself today..."

"And you can sing too?"

"... not really, I was just practicing the song and it kinda just happened." He was _really_ panicking now.

"Well, it was pretty. It sounded like a love song. Any particular reason you decided to learn it?" She cocked her eyebrows at the conclusion of the question.

Here, Jesse had to make a choice. He could lie, or he could just swallow his pride and tell her, right here, right now, just like that. In fact, the way Leslie asked the question made it sound like she already knew the answer she wanted to hear. He just had to say it.

_No, that's just wishful thinking on your part. How did everything go so wrong! You can't tell her now! Not like this!_

"Oh, I, uh, just really, um, like the Beatles." Jesse felt like kicking himself as soon has he spoke. Leslie knew just as well as May Belle did that he didn't care for the Beatles. But he had nothing else.

"Oh." Judging by the expression she wore, this was not the answer Leslie had wanted. Or at least expected. She turned to leave.

"Well, I'll see ya later then..." Leslie said softly over her shoulder. There were no two ways about it. She definitely looked upset now.

Jesse watched her walk dejectedly away, all the while frantically trying to process what had just transpired.

_Oh great! Now look what you've done! Sure, if you had told her and she didn't feel the same way she might have been a little spooked, but that's infinitely better than her HATING you!_

He knew he had to fix what he had just done.

He also knew that now would be his only chance.

Jesse leapt out of the chair where he was sitting, sending his iPod flying for the second time in twenty-four hours. He took off running and had caught up with Leslie in a matter of moments.

"Leslie, wait!" She turned to look at him, her sadness not entirely replaced by her surprise.

"I, uh... Well, you see, the real reason I learned that song was because..." Jesse knew he was committed now, he simply had to continue. But he felt like his throat had been sand-blasted by one of those bulky contraptions he had seen when he visited the hardware store where his dad worked.

_My god, what's wrong with me? Just SAY IT!_

"... of you." Jesse realized that he had been staring at his feet while he spoke. He looked up now to see Leslie's face no longer portraying sadness of any kind. Just shock. And... anger? He felt like he had to explain further.

"I was having a hard time falling asleep last night so I grabbed my iPod and started listening to random Beatles junk and the song just happened to come on and I couldn't stop thinking about you the whole time it played!" Jesse stood there, out of breath from the story he had just rushed out, and waited for Leslie's reaction.

_Uh oh. The anger's still there!_

"JESSE AARONS! WHAT'S YOUR DEAL? I come home from an emotionally demanding day of seeing a family member in the hospital to see you sitting there, playing the guitar and singing about love! And I think to myself, 'Gee, Leslie, I bet its about you! That would make sense and all, seeing as how you are the only girl Jess knows outside his own family!' But NO! You had to make up some BS story about you actually liking the Beatles and having just decided to learn that particular song out of the blue!"

Leslie had been pacing towards Jesse slowly but steadily during her entire tirade, and now had him backed up against the railing of his front porch, her face a mere foot away from his. This would have made him uncomfortable for an entirely different reason had she not been so extremely pissed at him at the time.

"And _now_ you think you can just run up to me and say, 'Oh no, Leslie, that was a mistake! It really was about you.'? Well, guess what, IT AIN'T THAT EASY!"

The verbal thrashing Jesse had just endured from what he was sure was his ex-best friend put every time his father had ever yelled at him to shame. He had never had a panic attack before, but he was pretty sure this was what it felt like.

"Leslie! I'm so sorry! I just wasn't thinking! I - "

Jesse was cut off as Leslie deftly swooped in and kissed him. On the lips. It was almost imperceptibly fast, but it had definitely just happened. As soon as the initial shock wore off, Jesse looked at Leslie once again to see her smirking at him smugly.

He couldn't believe it.

He had just been had.

Then, Leslie spun on her heels and began sprinting off down the road. Jesse took off after her.

"Hey, that was so completely unfair! You can't just trick me like that! I actually thought you hated me!"

Leslie spun around again, and jogging backwards, she said, "Oh, don't act so upset with me. You got what you wanted, just be happy about it!"

"But... but... Uh, don't you think we should talk about this? You know... us?"

"Nope, not really! All I want to do now is beat you to Terabithia!" And so she sped off with renewed vigor towards their kingdom.

Many years had passed since they first met, and Jesse was quite a bit taller and faster than Leslie now, but he had wasted all of his breath shouting after her, trying to get her to wait up so he could talk to her properly. In vain, of course.

Still, Jesse had a sudden idea about how to salvage his thoroughly botched attempt at telling Leslie how he felt about her. He too sprinted increasingly faster, tapping into some heretofore unknown source of energy.

He caught her just as they reached the creek that separated their kingdom from the outside world.

"Whoa, Jess, I'm impressed! After all these years, you finally caught me!"

"Well, Leslie, its like the song said. I got you in the end."

* * *

**AN:**

**Finally. I'm aware that two days is a relatively short time span in terms of the writing process for a story like this, but I feel like I've spent the better part of a year working on this. I guess I should let you know that I never really had a plan for this story. The idea for the first chapter was stuck in my head driving me absolutely insane for a month or so, but after that I just went from there. It's somewhat of a miracle that the story ended up working out to an acceptable conclusion.**

**Yep, this story is definitely done, and not a bit too soon in my opinion. However, about half of the one hundred or so Beatles songs I have in my repertoire still forcibly remind me of Bridge to Terabithia, so it isn't altogether unlikely that I will write something else in the distant future, probably centering around a Beatles song once again. I'll try my best to not make it a rehash of this same plot line (or lack thereof).  
**


End file.
